Live. Laugh.Love

Forgive and Forget

This blog is geared toward anyone who has ever felt guilty after eating too much food, or has continued to eat even after the fact that you are full. I have not binge ate in I don’t know how long, but occasionally I like to treat myself. My boyfriend can eat much more food than I am able to, and it is usually when I try to keep up with him that I end up feeling bloated, and sluggish afterwards. From my past experiences, these are the things I have found most helpful in getting past feelings of both guilt, and just overall grossness.

Let’s say you decided to go out with some friends, maybe had some drinks, ordered dessert after a big dinner, the works. Sounds like a fun night, and it probably was, but the next day you wake up feeling not so good. The first thing to do is forgive yourself, and forget. Focus on the fun parts of the night, and think about how grateful you are to have those friends you went out with. It was one day, night, meal, or whatever it happened to be. Or maybe you binged and it lasted a few days. It’s okay. If you are going to get anywhere in moving past it, you have to start by forgiving yourself. For those who can easily just move on with their life, you are lucky and probably don’t understand what I am talking about. Some people, like my past self, dwell on this for hours, even days after the fact.

The next tip is something some people might be opposed to, but I say weigh yourself because why not. If you really think you did that much damage, the scale more than likely will show you that you actually only gained maybe a few pounds if that (not that weight matters), most of it being water weight anyway. You certainly don’t have to weigh yourself though if it is going to make you feel bad, but doing this was something and is still something that helps me see that my body is working hard, and constantly burning the energy I feed it. Whatever you ate should not dictate your mood afterwards unless it creates a positive one, so only do this if you promise not to let the number get to you regardless of what it is. I only suggest this because I find it fascinating how the human body can endure so much stress (bloating, high calories, etc.) and still be able to balance you back out within a matter of days.

One thing NOT to do is restrict yourself the next day. What you should do is eat like you normally would on an average day, incorporate some feel good/healthy foods, and make sure to get plenty of water in to flush out your system, and help with the de-bloating. If you restrict yourself, you might fall back into the same pattern all over again. I cannot tell you how many times this happened to me when I was trying to overcome my eating disorder. Another thing you don’t want to do is go to the gym for hours on end after to work everything off. This is also going to pose the possibility that you do the same thing all over again, and is going to encourage an unhealthy relationship with food.

If you are someone who finds yourself constantly eating and then continuing it eat beyond the point of fullness, this paragraph is for you. One thing I would say is do not unconsciously eat your food. What I mean by this is do not snack in front of the TV with a full bag of food on your lap, rather put some of your chips/pretzels etc. in a container, put the large bag away, and enjoy your food. When you finish what you portioned out is when you can decide if you are still hungry. Most of the time hunger strikes from boredom. Drink some water first and see if that curbs the hunger. If not, get some food. Something I struggle with is eating too fast. When you eat slower, you give your body time to tell you if it wants more. Eating fast is a bad habit. Think about how fast people who do those crazy hot dog eating contests eat. Where is the enjoyment in that? Savor every bite, and do it consciously. I try to remind myself of this before every meal, yet somehow cant follow my own damn advice lol.

Overall, just listen to your body. If you are hungry, eat. If you are not, don’t force it. If you overdo it occasionally, forgive yourself. The world moves on around you, so don’t get caught up in one thing that you can’t fix once it has already happened. Be thankful that you are alive and well, and try to focus on what you can do in the future to enjoy the moments, and learn to forgive yourself. It all comes down to the fact that we only get once life. No minutes, hours, days, or thoughts should have to be wasted on negativity. I know not every single second of life can be happy, but don’t turn the ones that can be into ones that are not over something so small like an unintentional oversized meal. Forgive and forget.